Reunion of Membotta
by Cameron Phillips Fan
Summary: Serenity is stranded on a moon where a mysterious fog fills the forest. According to the locals of this moon, Membotta, the fog is a lure for lost souls. Are the stories true or simply local superstition? The entire crew will soon find out. 1 of 2
1. Chapter 1

Reunion

Simon Tam awoke from the sudden yet all too familiar jolt of the "Serenity's" landing. Then an unfamiliar jolt made the ship lean slightly to the right and Simon made a frantic attempt to stop his supplies from falling off the small table in front of him. It was only a matter of seconds before the voice of Captain Malcolm Reynolds came over the com system. His voice was so loud Simon could just about hear the Capitan's actual voice coming from the cockpit.

"_Kaylee!_" Yelled the Captain "_Get your gorram __pee-goo__ up here!_"

On other ships something like this might put the passengers in a panic (even though the Captain referred to Simon as a "member of his crew" on many occasions, Simon still referred to himself and his sister, River, as "passengers". Simon supposed that subconsciously, he didn't want to become too connected with a ship full of criminals); but on the Firefly class ship: Serenity, when something like this happens, the first thought that comes to your head is: "_What piece fell off this time?_".Simon saw a quick and multi-colored blur fly past the entrance of the room and heard the always cheerful voice of Kaylee.

"Coming, Capitan!" She said.

Simon, sluggish on his feet ran his hands through his jet-black hair as he stretched. He had been a sleep for three hours but it seemed only like three seconds. At least his loss of sleep wasn't in vain. He had finally found a treatment that seemed to be working for River. The down side though was that her body hadn't gotten used to the medicine yet; and that meant many long nights of helping her through the nausea and headaches. Simon had reassured her over and over that it would not always be like this. That very soon she would a normal girl again. "But _how_ soon" she would always ask. "_How_ soon?"

"Soon" Simon said aloud.

Simon walked over to the infirmary doors and slid them open. The bed was empty and River was nowhere in the room. This was very common for her. She usually woke up before him and wandered the ship but he still was struck with a short wave of panic. Simon exited the room and headed for the kitchen. _Maybe River's hungry this morning_, Simon thought.

"Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan..." Said Mal as he stares up at the damaged leg of his ship.

"Now, you see this is what happens when you force a ship to fly for weeks without maintenance." Said Wash who was beside him.

"It's not like I had a choice!"

"Well, it's doesn't really matter now does it?" remarked Kaylee who was high in a tree examining the mechanical leg. "It'll take at least three days to fix her. Assuming we have the money to buy some new parts."

Wash turned to Mal expectantly. Mal didn't respond. He looked up pleadingly at Kaylee.

"Sorry, Wash. Nothing in my hat this time."

Wash stands there in shock for a moment, then angrily kicks a tree and stomps back into the ship.

"Ai-yah. Tyen-ah!"

Kaylee slowly climbs down from the tree.

"Poor guy."

"He's been stuck in worse."

"No it's more then that. He had an entire day planed out with Zoe for when we got to our next stop. Had it scheduled down to the second. He had to with the crazy weather that moon has—whoa!"

Kaylee's foot slipped on some dew and she lost her grip on the branch but Mal caught her before she hit the ground.

"Sheh-sheh ..."

"Just look at your feet next time."

"Sorry. I just I saw something."

Kaylee glances past Mal into the foggy woods. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"There!"

Mal whorled around and put his hand on his gun holstered to his side, ready to fire at a seconds notice. Neither of them moved, and their surroundings did the same. Aside from the fog slowly swaying to and fro, all was silent and still. After a minute Kaylee tossed her hair out of her face. She seemed to relax a bit.

"Must've been the light in the fog." She said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. Mal grunted in agreement and slow moved his hand away from his gun. Kaylee began to walk back into the ship with Mal following close behind.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find some way to get the parts." Said Mal as he closed the cargo room doors.

"We always do."


	2. Chapter 2

Simon came into the kitchen and only took two steps before he found River. She was fast asleep, lying her head on Inara's shoulder. Inara didn't seem to mind. She was gently stroking River's hair and humming a waltz to her. Inara glanced up to him and gave a warm smile.

"I suppose she wasn't very comfortable on the infirmary bed." She said.

"Guess not."

River moved in her sleep and smiled.

"How is she doing? With her treatment, I mean."

Simon scratched the back of his neck.

"She is improving, I can say that. Her decisions are more thought out then before. Her conversations are more understanding. And most importantly of all: hardly any nightmares."

"Joo ah. that's wonderful!"

Simon nodded in agreement and couldn't help but smile.

"Last night we talked more than two hours. I hadn't seen her that happy in a long time. We just talked about our day. About how much she loves this ship. About dance. For once...it was like she had never even gone to that chap jong academy...that is until the nausea kicked in."

Right then Book came in and chuckled.

"Well, isn't this a sight to see. Is any one ready for breakfast?"

Simon shook his head.

"Some rice for me, please," said Inara. River began to slowly wake up.

River opened her eyes and took her head off of Inara's shoulder.

"I like food," she said while rubbing her eyes.

"Don't worry sweetheart," Book assured her. "there's plenty for you as well."

Book began to cook the rice.

After a few minutes of silence and steam gradually rising to ceiling; Jayne, Zoe and the rest of the crew came in and soon the kitchen was filled with energy. But before the crew could get too consumed in conversation, Mal stood up and raised his hand for attention. The room was quiet in a matter of seconds. Mal took an extra second to phrase the word just right in his mind.

"Now, I'm sure that you all are aware of the slight...mishap...that accrued this morning."

Both Kaylee's and Wash's face grew sour.

"Well, I'm sad to say that the iceberg has shown herself...One of our landing legs' have gotten pretty worn down...So worn that she needs all new hinges. And I reckon it'll take a mighty amount of cash to get her up on her feet again. So I need everyones hand in this. Dung-Ma?"

The crew was silent; but not for very long. Within seconds Zoe stepped towards Mal with her head held high.

"Tell us what to do."

During the next hour, Mal gave each one of the crew members instructions. They would each acquire a job in the towns surrounding the forest. They must make sure that the employer is a modest businessman who will not try and cheat them.

"We'll need all the cash we can get," Explained Mal.

"I still can't see why we just can't steal the money. Or better yet: go to the junk yards and find the stuff there." Jayne complained.

Kaylee spoke up before Mal could.

"The leg will do no good with already used parts. Doing that would be like putting a handkerchief on a combat wound. It'll only help for so long. We need brand new ones."

"Plus" continued Mal "Usually when we stole or misbehaved in any other fashion, we had a way out. We don't this time. So that means be on your best behavior."

Mal looked towards River who was looking at him with a slightly dazed expression.

"...All of you."


	3. Chapter 3

Kaylee had to grip the wrench with a good deal of her strength so that it wouldn't go flying out of her hands like last time. _Why do they have to put so much gorram oil in these things?_ she asked herself. For nearly a week she had been working at an engine repair shop in one of the local towns, and she hated it. Not the people outside of the shop; they were good enough folk. It was the people _inside_ the shop that she hated. Basically, the employees and owners of this place were true believers in that the only thing women were good for was sex and cooking. And when Kaylee told them that she didn't do much of either (at least not with them), they almost didn't hire her. That is until she showed her talent with an engine. But just because she got the job, didn't mean that she got their respect. Since she made the mistake of telling them that there was no other job she could get, they took a great deal advantage of her position. They would try to make her days there absolute torture by over-working her, giving her as little break time as possible and slapping her ass from time to time; but never more then that. If they went too far then she had the right to call the authorities; but anything under that wasn't enough to get the feds' attention. But what they didn't know was that even if they practically made her a slave, she couldn't do anything about it. She had to stay under the radar which meant no attention to herself what so ever (including calling the feds). She needed the money. Not for herself but for the crew. And that made it all worth while.

Simon washed the blood from his hands in silence as the commotion slowly died down. If one had seen the havoc that had accord just over an hour ago, they would think that there had been a great battle; and there had...inside a bar. This had answered Simon's question of why the only medical center in town was located on the outskirts closest to the bars and brothels instead of in the center of town where it was supposed to be. After finishing washing his hands, Simon removed his bloody surgeon clothing and placed them in a large bin before changing into his normal blue button-down shirt, black pants and dress shoes. After taking his black trench coat from his locker he exited the changing room.

"Leaving?" asked Vince, the only friend that Simon had made since coming here. He was putting new bandages on an unconscious man laying on a bed.

"My shift ended an hour ago. I'm sure my sister will have quite a fit when I get back."

Vince chuckled.

"Say 'hi' to Kim for me, will you?"

Simon nodded. He still wasn't used to his and River's aliases.

"Bye Vince." He said as he left.

"Bye Adam." Replied Vince.

Zoe walked through the foggy forest as she brushed the saw-dust off of her clothing. The forest was quite awe-inspiring this late afternoon. The dusk light reflected off of the constant fog and formed random auras of light that scattered throughout the wood. It was a very calming sight for Zoe; who needed to whined down after a hard day of constant noise. She walked in peace for a while towards the ship before she noticed something. Zoe slowed down to a halt and listened. The forest was quiet. By this time of day the insects and frogs should have been starting their nightly concert but there was nothing. Absolute silence. Zoe unconsciously put her hand on her side where her gun usually was but there was nothing (the factory where she worked had a strict rule about not bringing weapons inside the facility). Zoe saw movement in the corner of her eye and she jerked to her left. Nothing.

"Zoe?" Asked a voice behind her.

When she turned around Zoe's heart almost stopped. She was looking at a man in his early thirty's, wearing the Brown Coat combat uniform. He was spattered in blood and muck as though he had just finished a battle.

"Your looking good!" Said the man, taking a step forward. Zoe quickly stepped back.

"What?...What's wrong?"

"...Major Dodge..." Whispered Zoe

Major Dodge smiled.

"Last time I checked." Replied Dodge.

"Your...Dead..." said Zoe.

Dodge's smile faded.

"I saw you..." Continued Zoe, who was slowly advancing on Dodge "You were killed by a sniper...Shot in the head."

Dodge sighed and removed his helmet to scratch his head. When he did this a small, bloody hole could be seen in his forehead. Zoe gasped in fear.

"My god!" She said

Dodge glanced up at her and frowned.

"I'm afraid even more bloodshed will soon begin." Said Dodge. With in seconds Dodge faded into the fog, leaving Zoe alone with her pounding heart.


	4. Chapter 4

The kitchen was abnormally quiet this evening. There was no laughter, no story telling, only the sound of silverware clanking together and the chewing of food. Plus, the entire ship was filled with a slight layer of fog from the forest out side; but since it hadn't damaged any part of the ship, the fog was left unnoticed. After some time of silence, River looked around the room. Her breathing started to quicken and her eyes slowly widened. She was like a child seeing an unknown shadow yet too scared to run to their parent's room, so they stay frozen in their bed preying that the monster will go away. Simon was the first to notice the sudden change in River's demeanor.

"River?..." Asked Simon.

The crew members looked up from their food. They were all prepared to expect anything from River at any time.

"Mai Mai, what's wrong?" Asked Simon again.

Some of the crew members tried to get River's attention but it was no use. She was petrified. Finally Book came over to help Simon take River back to her room. He gently put his hand on River's shoulder but the second that Book touched her she leaped out of her chair.

"GET THEM AWAY!" She screamed as she ran around the kitchen. "THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!"

The crew immediately took action. They tried to stop her but River kept slipping away from them. River ran around the room with no destination, yet she seemed to be running away from something more then the crew. At times she would scream and run away from seemingly nothing. It seemed like she was trying to run from the fog. After a few thrown pots and scattered food, Wash cornered River by the stove.

"River, it's O.K!" He told her. "No one's here but us!"

"NO! TOO MANY! THERE'S TOO MANY!" Screamed River.

"Doc, I think this calls for doping!" Yelled Mal as he tried to stop River's flailing arms from hitting him. Simon was already running out of the room.

"THEY'RE SCREAMING AT ME!" Continued River. "WHY ARE THEY SO MAD AT ME?!"

"_Who's_ mad at you, River?!" Asked Inara as she helped Kaylee up.

River didn't answer. Instead she turned to Wash wish tear filled eyes.

"Your time is coming...but it will be quick..." River put her hands on Wash's cheek, "...I'm so sorry."

Right then, Simon returned with the medicine. River saw what he was going to do and immediately began to protest but with some effort, Simon got hold of her arm and injected her with the medicine. Even though she fought with all her might, she still slowly fell unconscious. The room was quiet once more. Simon picked up River in his arms and took her out of the kitchen. Mal pushed off some food off of his clothes and sighed.

"I think that girl is determined to make every night entertaining"

Zoe sat in the cockpit looking blankly at the console. She had learned over the months not to take River too seriously. She knew that most of the time what River said was just pointless rambling. But what if it was more this time.

"There you are." said Wash from behind her. Zoe turned around to see him standing in the door way.

"I couldn't sleep." Zoe replied.

Wash walked over and leaned on the console.

"Is because of what River said?" He asked

"A little...Well...mostly." Zoe replied.

"Even with Simon's medicine, she's still unstable." reassured Wash.

"But she's been right before."

Wash thought about this.

"Well, yes but that was different." Said Wash, "Those times River looked into the mind of someone and saw the truth. She's a Seer. Not a psychic."

Wash gently put his hand on Zoe's cheek.

"I'm going to live for a very long time, right by your side. I promise."

They then kissed as the fog gently flew around them.

Simon watched River sleep on the infirmary bed, daydreaming of an alternate life where River was perfectly fine, his relationship with his parents was solid, and that he was a well renowned surgeon in the Alliance. Suddenly, Kaylee's face popped into his dream.

"Simon?" She said.

Simon jumped back into reality and saw that Kaylee was standing right beside him.

"...Hello." Dumbly said Simon.

"Hi." Replied Kaylee with a slight smile. "Um...I was just wondering if you have something for burns."

Simon got up and began to look.

"Yes, I do. Did you get burned with the engine or something?" He asked as he went behind Kaylee to search in a drawer.

Kaylee looked at River with pity.

"Yeah, Kind of." Replied Kaylee.

When Simon finally found the cream and bandages he tapped Kaylee on the arm to get her attention but when he did, she yelped in pain.

"Kaylee are you alright? How big was that burn?"

Kaylee hesitated to answer.

"Take off your jacket. Let me have a look." Said Simon.

"Simon, really, it's just a --"

"-- A scratch, yes. That's all you ever say. Let me be the judge of that this time. Now, take off your jacket." Simon insisted.

Kaylee slowly took off her jacket and it was obvious that her right arm was giving her some trouble. When she got the jacket off and exposed her bare arms a large, recent burn covered the majority of her upper right arm. Simon stood in shock.

"Kaylee, this is more then just a scratch. Where did you get this?"

Kaylee hesitated.

"I got it at the shop. The boss told me to fix a fractured pipe; and while I was working on it the crack busted open and I got caught in the steam...which was pretty hot."

Simon studied the burn.

"I don't see any signs of treatment. They didn't do anything to help you?" Asked Simon.

"I put some cold water on it." Reassured Kaylee.

"But what did _they_ do?"

"...They were busy."

"No, they weren't. They just ignored you. Kaylee, you need to find another job. What if the next accident you have is much more serious? You could die on their floor and they probably won't even notice--"

"--Well Simon, that's a chance that I'm going to have to take!"

Simon stepped back. Kaylee had never snapped at him like that. But what he heard in Kaylee's voice wasn't anger. It was fear.

"I'm aware that I could get hurt doing this." Continued Kaylee. Tears began to form in her eyes but she ignored them. "But they pay me. They pay me more then I could get in any other place in town, and we need that money to get off of this gorram rock; so I will stay at that place no matter what until we have the means to leave. So don't you dare tell me to quiet that job, Simon. Don't you _dare_!"

They both stood there for some time. Kaylee: with her teary eyes on fire and her hands clenched. Simon: in a still silence. Slowly, Kaylee seemed to relax and she looked pleadingly at the young doctor.

"Simon..." She pleaded.

Simon understood and held out his arms which Kaylee immediately fell into.

"I can't take this anymore..." She cried on his shoulder.

She held him tightly as if he would fade away into the fog that huddled at their feet. Kaylee soon realized that Simon was doing the same.

"Shh...It's alright" Whispered Simon "...Everything is going to be fine...You'll see."

Simply being in his arms seem to confirm that for Kaylee. As he stood there holding her, all seemed to be right in the verse. It was then when she desperately wanted to be kissed by her secret love. Nothing more for now. Just a simple kiss....


	5. Chapter 5

"...And the little ducking lived happily ever after." Concluded Wash. The children applauded energetically as Wash made his duckling shadow puppet take a bow.

"Bravo, Wash! On core!" yelled River from the drawing table where she had been helping a child draw a picture of his dog. The children began to chant: "On core! On core! On core!" but the teachers eventually calmed them down and reminded the children that they should start to get ready for nap time. Both River and Wash helped each child settle down until all was quiet in the nursery. Afterwards, River went out for some fresh air. Wash followed soon after.

"Nice here, isn't it?" Wash said after some time of silence.

"Yes...It's very quiet, though." Replied River.

"I like that way...it's peaceful."

"Too much quiet scares me."

Wash turned towards River. Simon told him that when she did start to talk to try and keep her going as long as possible. He said that it would help her mind process thoughts better.

"Why?" Wash asked.

River kept her eyes strait ahead.

"Noise to the verse is like the heart to a human. When the verse is quiet, the verse is dead."

Wash looked ahead and realized what River was looking at: the forest.

"You think there's something wrong with that place?" He asked.

"I _know_ there's something wrong with that place." She replied "It's too quiet...dead."

Wash thought about what River had said the night before and a chill slowly crept down his spine.

"What happened last night... I mean, during dinner. What did you see."

River thought about it for a moment.

"I didn't see anything. But I felt a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"When we landed I just heard a lot of mumbling. Not mumbling in my ears but in my head. I tried to ignore it but over time they grew louder. Then last night they got angry. They started to to yell at me. They were the ones that told me about you."

"Wait" interrupted Wash; mostly because he was getting a little nervous himself "Who's _they_?"

River looked at Wash like he was the crazy one.

"The fog." She replied.

"Who's the fog?"

River looked back at the forest.

"The ones who are quiet."

And with that, River went back inside. Leaving Wash alone with his confusion.

Simon walked along the dirt streets while eating a quick lunch. He had to admit that even though there was much about this town that he disliked; there was one thing that he absolutely loved: the food. Even something as simple as the sandwich he was eating was delectable.

"I say it's the herbs." Said Mal who had came up from behind him.

Simon jumped and began to choke on the piece of partly chewed sandwich. Mal smacked him on the back which dislodged the food from Simon's throat.

"Easy, Doc." chuckled Mal. "Got to live to save other people from that."

"Just...warn me next time." Coughed Simon.

Mal reassured the surrounding locals that all was well then helped Simon find a seat on a step to a nearby store so that he could catch his breath.

"So...how goes your post?" Mal asked when Simon's breathing slowed to normal.

"It's insanity." Replied Simon "All of my patients have either been drunks or been injured by a drunk."

"Welcome to the outer rim, Doc."

"And, you grew up in this?"

Mal smiled.

"Well, it wasn't as bad a place where I grew up. I lived a bit closer to the inner planets, but still far enough away to not even see an Alliance soldier until I was a teen."

Simon fell silent for a moment.

"I can't remember ever _not_ seeing an Alliance soldier when I was young."

Mal turned to Simon.

"Well then" Mal began "I suppose we did have some advantage over you Alliance folk: we were actually exposed to freedom."

Simon looked at Mal with confusion at first. Then he realized what the captain was saying.

"I suppose that's true."

Right then, the town sheriff came into view on the other side of the street. Simon tensed.

"If you run, that will make it a fact that he'll notice you." Whispered Mal "Just sit tight and don't make eye contact."

This gave Simon a chance to study the man that the sheriff was talking to. He was a man in his mid forties with an old, deep scar on the right side of his face that ran from his forehead, through his eye, and ended at his chin. He was wearing black combat boots, black pants, a dark green undershirt and a black jacket with the Alliance crest stitched onto the sleeves. A long, old sniper rifle was slung over his shoulder. Due to the distance between them, it was difficult for Mal or Simon to hear was being said but there was one sentence that they heard loud and clear from the scarred man: "...Searching for Simon and River Tam."

Simon's heart went cold. For so long he had been running. For so long he had kept River save. And now the one time that they had no exit a bounty hunter just happens to come across their path. Again the need to run away flashed in his mind but then he saw Mal move from the corner of his eye. He turned to look. Mal had picked up a rather large rock and was leaning slowly to the right. Simon noticed an unsuspected man who had stopped to tie his boots a short distance from them. Mal leaned as far as he could with out falling over and stretched his right hand (Which contained the rock) even farther. He then through the rock at the man, hitting him in the back of the head. Since the way Mal had thrown the rock made it hit directly behind him instead of beside him, the man whorled around with fiery eyes.

"chap jong!" The man said as he punched the closest man to him. The victim stumbled to the side but quickly regained his footing and tackled the the other to the ground. This quickly started a small riot that kept the sheriff and the bounty hunter occupied enough so that Simon and Mal could slip away unnoticed.

"I need to get River." Panted Simon when they were far enough from the riot.

"No, I'll get her. You go back to the ship." Replied Mal.

Simon began to protest.

"The hunter will get more bounty if he brings back you both. It will be more difficult to do that if you two are separated. Now, you head back to the ship. I'll keep her hidden for as long as I can. Hopefully, he'll eventually give up or, with some luck, we get rid of him ourselves. But until then, I don't want you putting one foot outside of Serenity. Dung ma?"

Simon hesitated. He never completely trusted Mal. Not with his life and certainly not with River's. But the captain did have a point. They wouldn't have a fighting chance if both of them were caught. And as unbearable as it was; Simon saw the logic in splitting up.

"Doc?"

Simon looked at Mal and tried hard to not show fear.

"Swear you'll take care of her." Simon said.

"I swear." Promised Mal "I swear to Book's god that I will do everything in my power to keep your sister safe. Now go."

Simon nodded and exited down an alleyway, out of sight. Mal then turned and ran to the nursery.

Wash and River were waking up the children when Mal came in. He was walking rather calmly yet he had large balls of sweat running down his brow and was trying very hard to slow his breathing. One of the teachers got to Mal before either River or Wash could.

"Can I help you, sir?" She asked in a slightly concerned tone.

"Uh, yes ma'am I'm looking for..." Mal noticed River in the back of the room "There you are."

Mal quickly worked his way through the drowsy-child-minefield over to River.

"We need to go. Now." He whispered as he took Rivers hand.

Mal got River only half way back to the door before the teacher intercepted them and blocked their path.

"Kim, is there something you forgot to tell us?" Asked the teacher "Who is this?"

At first Mal feared that River wouldn't be able to help him; But then she put on the sweetest smile that one could ever see.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She said apologetically. She then tightly hugged Mal.

"This is my father."

Mal was extremely confused for a split second, then managed a smile and returned River's hug.

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself but I really am in quiet a hurry. You see..." It took a second for Mal to get his story straight. "Kim's favorite uncle just came into town; but he's just passing by and well...I wanted to give Kim a chance to see him while he's here. You understand right?"


	6. Chapter 6

It was dusk when Mal and River had found a small secluded cave in the forest to make camp. After a small meal of stolen bread, they sat in silence as fog thickened around them. It would never venture into the warm light of the campfire. It just circled around them like a pack of wolves studying its' prey.

"I wonder why it is?" Asked River while she gracefully ran her hand back and forth through the fog.

"Why what is?" Asked Mal as he absent-mindedly peeled the bark off of a stick.

"Why ghosts prefer the dark rather then light."

"Is that what you think this stuff is?" Asked Mal motioning at the fog "Ghosts?"

"I'm sure of it." River stopped running her hand through the fog and looked at Mal "Aren't you?"

Mal breathed out a laugh.

"I think it's all just a lot of water vapor." He replied "Nothing more."

"What if it isn't?"

Mal threw the bits of bark into the fire.

"Don't you ever know how to drop a topic, Little One?"

River smiled back at him.

"Apparently not." She replied.

"Well then let me teach you" Said Mal as he lean closer to the fire.

"Drop it. Before you become a ghost yourself."

River simply stared at the captain; not showing an ounce of fear.

"You can't hide from them forever." She replied.

There was another long silence between the both of them. Before long, River began to dose off to sleep. And soon, Mal did the same...

Mal stood in the utter darkness. He tried to look around for a source of light but there was nothing. Slowly, sounds crept up around him. They were voices. Thousands of voices; all men, women and children.

"Hello?" Mal called out.

No answer. But the voices did seem to notice his presence. Mal could feel there consciousnesses touch his own. He then felt a small tug on his coat. Mal turned to look but there was nothing there. Another tug. This time on his other side. Mal looked but again, nothing. The voices grew louder and he felt more and more tugs on his clothing, each time was a little harder and each time it seemed to come from nothing. One very forceful jerk made Mal fall to the floor and he braised himself for the worse.

"Its alright!" Cried a distant voice.

Mal rolled around to see a young man sitting on a small stool by a campfire. The invisible attackers slowly moved away from Mal and back into the darkness. How he didn't notice the fire before was beyond Mal's grasp but that was the least of his confusion. The man was relatively handsome in his mid to late twenties with short, black curly hair. He had dark brown eyes and was wearing a grey button-down shirt, black pants and knee-high leather boots. Mal recognized him immediately.

"Tracey? That you?"

Tracey smiled at Mal.

"The one and only, Reynolds." Replied Tracey as he motioned to another small stool "Come on over here. I won't bite."

Mal got up and slowly came over to his fellow Brown Coat, but did not sit down. He just stared at Tracey in shock.

"Your dead, Tracey. You got shot...twice." Muttered Mal.

"Hey, I'm not denying that." Tracey replied

"Then how are you here?"

Tracey glanced around the darkness.

"I've always been here. Ever since I died that is." Tracey replied "Can't explain it really. One moment, I'm on your ship bleeding to death. The next I'm here."

"And where exactly is 'here'?" Mal asked.

"It's nowhere; and everywhere; but mostly..."

The darkness faded away to reveal Mal's and River's campsite.

"It's here." Concluded Tracey.

Tracey's fire became their own. They were sitting between sleeping River and Mal. Mal looked at his sleeping self in disbelief.

"Am...I...?"

"No, Sergeant, your not dead." Reassured Tracey.

"Oh." Mal relaxed a bit.

"But you will be if you don't listen to my advice."

"Listen to a dream..." muttered Mal "So then, technically, I'll be listening to myself. And that will be pointless, seeing that the point for asking for advice is to get an _outsiders_ opinion." Mal concluded.

"This is more then a dream, Mal. You need my help."

Mal got up from his stool.

"I think I'll be leaving now."

Mal closed his eyes. It only took a second for him to feel the cold breeze of early morning on his face. He felt a small hand violently shaking his arm.

"Captain..." River voice pleaded "Mal!"

Mal woke up with a start and began to yell at River but stopped dead when he saw who was standing over them both: The bounty hunter.

"Have a good sleep?" Asked the bounty hunter with a sly smile.

"Ai-yah Tyen-ah..." Mal cursed.

**END OF PART ONE**


End file.
